The term sorbet came to us via the Old Italian word sorbetto , which in turn was borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish şerbet . Ultimately, it is derived from the Arabic word šarba ('drink').
But there is another interesting variant of the sorbet elsewhere in Europe. That is one that originates from the southern Spanish city of Valencia, where it can be incredibly hot in the summer and temperatures easily exceed 40 o C. That version is made with orange juice and olive oil. The original recipe uses blood oranges because of their beautiful color, but 'regular' oranges will of course also do. By the way, don't be afraid that this sorbet will taste like cold olive oil: using it will create a subtle creamy taste experience.
Ingredients
- 250 grams of caster sugar
- 250 ml of orange juice (juice of about 7 oranges)
- zest of two of the oranges
- juice of half a lemon
- 150 ml of extra virgin Yakelos olive oil
Preparation
- Put the sugar in a saucepan with 100 ml of the orange juice. Let the sugar melt slowly over a low heat.
- Put the solution in a bowl and let it cool completely.
- Mix (with a mixer or food processor) the grated zest with the rest of the juice, lemon juice and olive oil through the cooled mixture.
- Pour the mixture into a plastic container and put it in the freezer.
- To prevent ice crystals from forming, mix it well with a fork after an hour. Then repeat this every half hour. For the fourth time, do not use a fork, but a hand mixer or stick blender. Then let the ice cream freeze for at least another hour.
- Store the ice cream covered in the freezer at a temperature of -18°C until use.
- Take the sorbet out of the freezer fifteen minutes before use, so that it is easier to scoop.
